Madisyn Swanson and Ethan “Easy” Cunningham are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.

Swanson takes home the girls’ honor after an outstanding summer with the Mining City Magic and the Copper City Softball Little League. She also filled in for the Bitterroot Sparks.

This summer allowed Swanson, a soon-to-be senior at Butte High School, to connect and interact with people she otherwise wouldn’t have met. She was committed to getting better and leading the team. She stayed after practices to improve her hitting and dedicated her afternoons to practice.

Swanson respects her coaches, accepts criticism and is always looking to improve. She encouraged the younger girls and showed enthusiasm in each game. She had the ability to be moved around the field where she was needed, and she was a consistent force on defense. During the Western Regional Tournament, Swanson hit .357 and stayed optimistic even in the three games we were behind and came back with the win. Swanson is the ultimate team player.

Cunningham takes home the boys’ honor after pitching the Butte Miners to victory in his last game of American Legion Baseball.

Easy pitched all eight innings as the Miners beat Belgrade 5-4 in extra innings to open the South A District Tournament Friday in Belgrade. The super senior struck out four batters and did not issue a single walk in the victory.

Cunningham gave up four runs — thanks to some bad luck. Only three were earned. He also doubled, scored a run and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the win.

The Miners lost the next two games to end the season, closing the book on Cunningham’s stellar Legion career. He was a key member of the 2022 Butte team that won the District, State and Northwest Regional tournaments.

On the season, Cunningham hit .333. He went 7-2 on the bump, posting a 1.19 ERA. He will go down as one of the best Butte Miners pitchers of all time.

For the second year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City in an effort to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.

Photo of Cunningham is courtesy Josie Trudgeon Photography.